Archimedean screw delivery 28 August

The Archimedean screw for Whalley Community Hydro will be arriving on Thursday 28 August around 9 am at the site on the Billington side of the weir at Whalley. It is the mechanism which transforms the power of the river into electricity as the weight of water turns it.

Measuring 12-metres long, 3.6 m diameter and weighing 13 tonnes the screw was designed and manufactured by water treatment and power specialists, Spaans Babcock Ltd, The scheme will also improve the ecology of the River Calder as its design incorporates an improved fish pass, which allows fish and elvers to travel upstream more easily to access the upper reaches of the river.

A crane will lift it into place later that morning probably around 11 am to 12 noon.

The screw is being manufactured by Spaans Babcock in The Netherlands.

“This is a great day for Whalley Community Hydro,” says Whalley Hydro director and project supervisor Bill Wilkinson. “Our principal contractor Spaans Babcock of Heywood and civil engineers, William Pye of Longridge, have done excellent work in keeping us on track for handover in November.”

Delivery and installation can be viewed by the public from the bridge over the River Calder at Whalley and from the public footpath on the Whalley side of the weir.